CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines –The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) concluded a two-day inquiry into the growing issue of red-tagging in Mindanao – a practice that has left over a hundred individuals and organizations branded as communist rebel sympathizers or terrorists, often with little more than baseless accusations to justify the labels.
CHR Commissioner Beda Epres said the inquiry was based on the Supreme Court (SC) ruling declaring that red-tagging is a threat to people’s life, liberty, and security.
About a hundred individuals and organizations were invited to share their gripping stories of harassment allegedly by state forces during the two-day, closed-door CHR inquiry held at a downtown hotel in Cagayan de Oro on Monday and Tuesday, November 11 and 12.
Among those invited by the CHR were bishops and clergy of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), which is among the most red-tagged organizations in the country.
All fingers pointed to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), created by former president Rodrigo Duterte, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“This is too organized and well-funded not to be state-sponsored,” said lawyer Beverly Selim-Musni, a member of the Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM).
Musni and her daughter, Charina, also a human rights lawyer, were subjected to red-tagging, with their photographs plastered on posters and tarpaulins distributed throughout Cagayan de Oro City and towns in Misamis Oriental.
Many testimonies were given online by respondents who feared traveling to Cagayan de Oro for security and economic reasons. Only four witnesses attended to present their testimonies, according to a CHR staff member who asked not to be identified.
The CHR has already completed inquiries in Manila and Cebu. Cagayan de Oro is the final leg of its nationwide investigation into red-tagging.
CHR-Northern Mindanao Director Jeanne Abrina said the CHR will release its final report on red-tagging after collating all the testimonies.
On Monday, Musni said the CHR commissioners heard accounts of bullying against individuals and organizations, including an LGBT group in Zamboanga City and farmers protesting the forced takeover of their land by a palm oil corporation in Agusan del Sur.
“The LGBT organization was red-tagged for organizing beauty and makeup classes for gays. That’s how ridiculous they are,” Musni said.
In her case, Musni said she was shocked to see her photograph on a pamphlet labeling her a communist rebel sympathizer, being distributed outside a church in Cagayan de Oro City.
Cong Corrales, editor-in-chief of the Mindanao Gold Star Daily, said journalists were not spared from the red-tagging bullying by the AFP and PNP.
Corrales, who has been frequently tagged as a New People’s Army (NPA) sympathizer and rebel, recounted how he and other journalists were red-tagged after staging a protest rally against the closure of TV station ABS-CBN in 2020.
“When we got back to the ABS-CBN station, we found a funeral wreath with my name and other journalists’ names on it. Later, flyers were also distributed around the city,” Corrales said.
Corrales said red-tagging can have a chilling effect on journalists and their ability to report freely, especially when they are vilified in public.
“Red-tagging sends a message to journalists that covering sensitive issues can jeopardize their lives, their families, and their reputations,” Corrales told the CHR investigators. – Rappler.com